WAIPAHU, Hawai'i – Tom Vorkastner and Hawai'i Hilo Men's Soccer rallied back to even the score with back-to-back goals in the 71st and 77th minutes, but HPU ultimately prevailed as it managed to find the back of the net with under nine minutes to go as the Vulcans dropped a 3-2 result in their Pacific West Conference opener on O'ahu at the Waipi'o Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
It was a tough battle for the Vulcans with the Sharks seemingly appearing at every opportunity to make a stop and keep Hawai'i Hilo in check.
In the 36th minute, HPU countered down the length of the field and Kota Fukunishi snuck a shot through the right side for the score. Later coming out of halftime, the Sharks managed to strike fast with a perfectly-placed cross from the right corner for Kelly Takara to head in for the 2-0 lead.
Vorkastner got the rally going by sniping in an olimpico goal off a corner kick from the left side to cut into the deficit with 20 minutes remaining. The pace never let up and just over five minutes later, Colby Lee drew a foul just outside the penalty area to set up the free-kick opportunity as Vorkastner buried it through the upper-right corner for the equalizer in the 77th minute.
However, with another five minutes' time, HPU managed to find the back of the net for the game-winner by Jonathan Sorto.
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Hawai'i Hilo moved to 0-1-0 in the PacWest (5-2-0 overall) while HPU moved to a 1-0-0 conference record (2-5-0 overall).
The Vulcans return to the Big Island for a four-game homestand hosting Academy of Art (Oct. 1), Dominican (Oct. 6), Jessup (Oct. 12) and Menlo (Oct. 15).
Top four teams in the regular season standings will qualify for the first PacWest Conference Championships postseason tournament set for Nov. 14-16 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.
